GREE Leads Series A-1 Investment in HotelQuickly
Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) July 10, 2014 -- GREE, Inc. and Hotel Quickly Ltd. today announced that HotelQuickly, a leader in last-minute hotel bookings in the Asia-Pacific region, has raised US$4.5 million in a Series A-1 financing led by GREE. William E. Heinecke, CEO and Chairman of Thai-based Minor International, participated in the round through his family office. The investment follows a US$1.15 million Series A round in August 2013, bringing HotelQuickly’s total funds raised to date to more than US$5.5 million.
With the additional capital, HotelQuickly aims to accelerate its product development, marketing, and hiring to drive sales across Asia-Pacific and to secure its lead in the region. GREE recently launched its own Japan-based last-minute booking service, Tonight, and the investment forms the basis for a partnership between GREE and HotelQuickly aimed at enhancing their respective services through personnel exchange, the sharing of technical expertise, and other collaboration.
“HotelQuickly has expanded at a phenomenal pace this past year to emerge as the clear leader in last-minute bookings in Asia-Pacific with more than 3,000 partner hotels and 100 destinations,” said Eiji Araki, a Board Member at GREE, Inc. “This is a great opportunity for GREE to take part in that growth story, while teaming up with the world-class talent at HotelQuickly to accelerate our own entry to this space. Our two companies share a mobile-first approach, so this partnership is a natural fit. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
“We’re seeing a clear shift from online to mobile, and as traditional booking channels lose ground, there is tremendous opportunity for a service like HotelQuickly in the Asia-Pacific region,” said William E. Heinecke, CEO and Chairman of Thai-based Minor International and one of Thailand’s most renowned and successful entrepreneurs. “HotelQuickly is best positioned to capitalize on this movement. I have faith in the executive management and I’m excited to be backing this adventure together with GREE.”
“We are thrilled to have GREE and Bill Heinecke among our investors. We can benefit a great deal from both of their experience,” said Tomas Laboutka, Co-Founder and CEO of HotelQuickly. “We will be able to further accelerate thanks to their commitments. HotelQuickly is actively shaping the last-minute hotel booking space in the Asia-Pacific, and we are excited to embark on the journey ahead of us with confidence that we are in good company.”
Launched in March 2013, HotelQuickly has garnered a fast-growing customer base of more than 150,000 registered users and 300,000 downloads, its simplicity and user-friendliness making it the most popular last-minute bookings app in the 12 markets where it is available, which include Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. The only localized last-minute app available in the region, HotelQuickly supports English, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesian, and Thai.
In June 2014, GREE released the last-minute bookings app, Tonight, in Japan in a move to tap into the projected growth in demand for last-minute bookings in Japan, whose government recently announced an annual target of 30 million inbound visitors by 2030, as well as outbound bookings by Japanese customers. Offering a range of accommodation options from casual to luxury hotels, Tonight allows users to book last-minute accommodation nearby in four steps, taking as little as ten seconds.
For more information about GREE, please visit http://corp.gree.net/global/.
For more information about HotelQuickly, please visit http://www.hotelquickly.com/.
About Hotel Quickly Ltd.:
HotelQuickly is a last-minute hotel booking app available for free for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry 10 devices. The app offers deeply discounted 3- to 5-star hotels in more than 100 destinations across Asia-Pacific. Headquartered in Hong Kong with offices throughout the region, HotelQuickly launched its application in March 2013 and is by now the undisputed leader in the segment of last-minute-only mobile hotel booking in Asia-Pacific.
About GREE, Inc.:
GREE is a global mobile social company with businesses that include social gaming, social media, advertising, licensing and merchandising, and venture capital. Established in December 2004, GREE created the world's first mobile social game in 2007 and today is a global leader in free-to-play, reaching audiences around the world with its portfolio of first-party and partner titles. GREE has studios in Tokyo, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Seoul, and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (3632)
GREE and the GREE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of GREE, Inc., in Japan and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Tali Fischer, GREE International, Inc., http://www.gree-corp.com/, +1 818-653-9234, [email protected]
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